All right.

First, I would like to discuss access to early childhood services. Preschool programs must occupy a prominent position in the article 23 project under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in order to maintain the minority language and culture. There is a shortage of spaces in French-language educational day care facilities, particularly for children 0 to 2 years of age, as a result of which parents are entitled to enrol their children in English-language day care centres. We are requesting an increase in available funding to create spaces in French-language educational day care centres.

Rural regions that do not have accredited educational day care services also need more funding, and incentives must be established so that such services can be made available to the francophone community in regions where English dominates.

Now let's discuss language upgrading and francization. Preschool programs are essential to the subsequent academic success of children and adolescents. When preschool-age children are enrolled at English-language educational day care services, francization services will be necessary from the moment they enter kindergarten. Currently, an average of two and a half hours of language proficiency upgrading is offered at the early childhood level, and that is not enough. We are therefore requesting increased funding so we can offer more language proficiency upgrading at the early childhood level to promote children's academic success.

According to the 2021 census, 11,070 children aged 0 to 4 years of age were eligible for official language minority instruction in New Brunswick, whereas 5,617 spaces at accredited day care facilities were available for those children in 2021–2022. Also according to census data, 49% of the 5,453 children who were eligible for francophone instruction did not have access to francophone educational day care services.

Furthermore, funding obtained by the official languages in education program, or OLEP, is important for minority language primary and secondary schools. However, the increase received from the official languages support programs, or OLSP, is clearly insufficient and prevents the federal government from meeting its official language obligations. We are requesting increased OLEP funding so we can meet the increasing needs of the minority language education system.

Funding for language upgrading at the primary and secondary levels is also inadequate. Language upgrading in rural regions, regions where English dominates and regions taking in large numbers of immigrant students is inadequate as well. The sharp rise in the number of immigrant students causes significant pressure and imbalance. That pressure should continue because Canada will continue focusing on immigration in the coming years. Consequently, we request increased funding for language upgrading so we can work with immigrant students as soon as they enter the schools. We are also seeking more funding to provide academic personnel with the necessary resources and knowledge to ensure that children are properly welcomed and can achieve academic success. Lastly, we are requesting funding so we can provide welcome and support services for the families of rights-holder parents and immigrant families to enable them to support their children on their learning journey.

We must also address the issue of inadequate and obsolete school infrastructure. The condition of a school has a direct impact on students' success. In 2020, New Brunswick's auditor general estimated that 62% of New Brunswick schools were, on average, 40 or more years old. Statistics Canada estimates that the lifespan of educational buildings is approximately 40 years. Significant investment will therefore be required to maintain, renovate or replace New Brunswick schools over the next few years.

The recent influx of immigrant students has also put additional pressure on school infrastructure. For many years now, for example, the District scolaire francophone Sud has requested new school infrastructure in the Saint John region to meet the needs of the francophone community. The Centre scolaire Samuel‑de‑Champlain and the École des Pionniers are the only two schools in the Saint John area.

In 2021, they had 919 students, whereas, according to Census 2021, a minimum of 2,155 students could attend those schools. Consequently, 1,236 students in that region of the province are not attending a French-language school.